Car Repair & Maintenance Articles

Article / Updated 03-15-2022

If your car battery has died, you may be able to use jumper cables to jump-start it with the help of some good Samaritan's vehicle. If you can safely use jumper cables on your vehicle, make sure that the battery on the good Samaritan's vehicle has at least as much voltage as your own. As long as you hook up the cables properly, it doesn't matter whether your vehicle has negative ground and the other vehicle has positive ground, or your vehicle has an alternator and the other vehicle has a generator. If either vehicle has an electronic ignition system or is an alternatively fueled vehicle, the use of jumper cables may damage it. To safely jump-start, follow these steps: Take out your jumper cables. It's a good idea to buy a set of jumper cables and keep them in the trunk compartment. If you don't have jumper cables, you have to find a kind stranger who not only is willing to assist you, but who has jumper cables as well. Place both vehicles in Park or Neutral and shut off the ignition in both cars. Engage both parking brakes as well. Attach one of the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery. It has "POS" or "+" on it, or it's bigger than the negative terminal. Attach the other red clip to the positive terminal of the other car. Attach one of the black clips to the negative terminal on the other battery. Attach the last black clip to an unpainted metal surface on your car that isn't near the battery. Use one of the metal struts that holds the hood open. The cables should look like this. Start the working vehicle and let the engine run for a few minutes. Try to start your vehicle. If it won't start, make sure that the cables are properly connected and have the other person run their engine for five minutes. Then try to start your car again. If it still won't start, your battery may be beyond help. If the jump works and your car starts, don't shut off your engine! Drive around for at least 15 minutes to recharge your battery. If the car won't start the next time you use it, the battery isn't holding a charge and needs to be replaced. If your car doesn't start, check out these tips for troubleshooting a car that won't start.

Article / Updated 03-04-2022

Keeping your car’s interior clean is more than a matter of pride; dirt contains grit and chemicals that can eat away the surfaces of your car’s interior. Generally speaking, the same procedures and products that you use at home work quite well in your car. Clean the interior before you do the exterior. The most effective thing you can do is vacuum the seats first, remove and clean the floor mats, and then vacuum the carpets. Dust the dashboard, rear window shelf, and other surfaces, and use swabs or a toothbrush to get into A/C vents, around dashboard knobs, and other tight places. Aerosol cans of air used for cleaning cameras and computers can force dust from tiny apertures. Never use a dry rag or paper towels to clean the plastic lenses on instrument panel gauges. Small, dry particles of dust and grit can scratch the surface. If the lenses are clouded, use a plastic cleaner sparingly with a clean, damp terry cloth rag or sponge. Excess moisture can damage electronic instruments. Cleaning the upholstery You can use the same products to clean car upholstery and carpeting that you use to clean your chairs, sofas, and rugs. Keep the following in mind: Avoid using large quantities of water; you don’t want to get the padding under the fabric wet or rust the upholstery buttons, if there are any. Avoid sponges, working instead with damp rags wherever possible. If you think that you’ve gotten things too wet, use a portable hair dryer to dry the padding quickly and evaporate water from around buttons and seams. To keep upholstery from fading and deteriorating, park the vehicle facing in a different direction as often as possible so that the sun doesn’t keep hitting the same surfaces. During dry seasons, keep a window or the sunroof open a crack to prevent heat from building up inside. It can dissolve fabric adhesives and crack vinyl seat covers. Cleaning vinyl and plastic surfaces Vinyl seats and interiors and plastic surfaces such as dashboards, steering wheels, and interior moldings usually respond well to water and a mild soap or dish detergent, but you may have to resort to special vinyl-cleaning products if you’ve let things get out of hand. Protect all vinyl and plastic surfaces from sunlight and heat with products designed for those materials. While you’re at it, use them or a spray silicone lubricant on dashboards, weatherstripping, vinyl or rubber floor mats, and tires, too, to prevent them from cracking and drying out and to keep them supple. Avoid oil- and petroleum-based products that can damage vinyl and leave it brittle. Caring for leather seats If you’re lucky enough to have leather seats in your vehicle, take care of them. If properly cared for, leather can last a long time but, like all skin, it dries out and ages prematurely if it’s not kept clean and moisturized. Follow this advice for caring for leather upholstery: Use a high-quality product like saddle soap to clean and preserve leather seats. Neatsfoot oil waterproofs, softens, lubricates, restores, and preserves leather that has been cleaned first. If you must park where the sun can get at your leather seats, lean them forward or drape something over them to protect them. If conditions are severe, think about installing window film that blocks UV rays. If this is impossible, take comfort from the fact that leather seats don’t get as hot as vinyl ones, so you can probably sit down on them without screaming.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-14-2022

Following some basic auto repair safety rules and a monthly maintenance schedule will keep you safe and prevent auto problems later. Disassembling auto parts and putting them back together is easier if you stay calm and avoid distractions.

Article / Updated 12-30-2021

If your car is having problems, and you think that your engine is getting enough air and fuel, you’re probably having ignition system trouble. On traditional vehicles, the “fire” that lights the fuel/air mixture is really electric current that’s stored in the battery, replaced by the alternator, monitored by sensors, and directed by the ECU to the spark plugs in the cylinders at the proper time. If something along the way goes wrong and the spark fails to reach the plugs, all the air and fuel in the world won’t produce combustion in the cylinders, and the vehicle won’t go. If the engine was running before it died, it’s probably not the fault of the battery, solenoid, or starter. If just one spark plug suddenly malfunctions, the engine will continue to run on the other cylinders. It won’t run smoothly, but it will get you off the road and into a repair shop. If your car has an electronic ignition system, the ignition module may have gone bad. Because these vehicles have high-energy ignition systems that operate at 47,000 volts or higher, the old technique of pulling a distributor or spark plug cable to test for a spark is unsafe. Whether the vehicle has a distributorless ignition system or has an electronic ignition, you need to have a professional check it out. The good news is that these systems aren’t prone to breaking down, so they probably aren’t the problem. If your vehicle is an older model with a non-electronic ignition system, you can check the distributor cap to see whether the spark is getting from there to the coil and on to the spark plugs.

Article / Updated 12-03-2021

Car manufacturers have been working on self-driving cars since around 2008, and experts say they could become available to consumers during this decade. The self-driving car employs many available technologies which allow an automobile to move safely through the streets without a driver. Sensing its surroundings without any human intervention, the self-driving car would offer a whole new approach to commuting on the roadways. The technical components of a self-driving car Each car is equipped with an inertial navigation system, Global Positioning System (GPS), radar, video, and laser rangefinders. The vehicle leverages information gleaned from the inertial navigation system — a device that accumulates errors over time — and the GPS to determine where it is located and then uses the sensor data to further refine its position. From these data inputs, the car builds a three-dimensional image of where it is located. The car uses the noise filtered data from the sensors to make navigation decisions through its control system. A self-driving car is designed using a deliberative architecture, meaning that it’s able to make intelligent decisions by storing a map of its environment. From that stored map, the self-driving car makes decisions on the best way to navigate around obstacles, such as pedestrians and road work. After the vehicle has made routing decisions, a variety of commands are then sent to the car’s actuators which control the braking, throttle, and steering. All of these processes are repeated many times per second until the car comes to its final destination. The future of self-driving cars Great strides have recently been made by car manufacturers in the production and testing of self-driving cars. There still remains, however, many technological barriers that must be overcome before these vehicles are made safe for the open roads. For example, GPS can be unreliable and computer visions systems are limited. Adverse weather conditions also make these vehicles unreliable. For example, if snowfall partially or completely covers a traffic signal, the self-driving car may be unable to detect the color of the signals. The ability to navigate around unpredictable and varying construction sites is also a hindrance that must be overcome. None of these obstacles are insurmountable, but we are still a few years off with this technology.

Article / Updated 12-03-2021

You'll often hear this myth regarding hacking or modding your car: it automatically cancels your warranty. Don't believe it as gospel. Sure, changing the windshield wiper blades can't cause the transmission to break, but your warranty won't allow you to do whatever you want to your car. Warranty requirements When it comes to new car warranties, automotive owners and enthusiasts have a very important lobbying body on their side, namely the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). This association of aftermarket parts suppliers represents manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and distributors in North America. Because SEMA has a vested interest in the continued sale of aftermarket parts, it has helped to keep new car manufacturers in check by successfully lobbying for legislation that prevents new car dealership service providers from denying warranty coverage, for example in a seized motor, because you chose to use those snazzy aftermarket carbon fiber windshield wipers instead of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts sold through their parts/service departments. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act The relevant legislation here, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975, protects consumers from being wrongfully denied warranty coverage by new car dealers. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states, in part, in Title 15, United States Code, Section 2302, subdivision (c): No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade, or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the [Federal Trade] Commission if (1) the warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and (2) the Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest. The Commission shall identify in the Federal Register, and permit public comment on, all applications for waiver of the prohibition of this subsection, and shall publish in the Federal Register its disposition of any such application, including the reasons therefore. Under this federal statute, a manufacturer who issues a warranty on your motor vehicle is prohibited from requiring you to use a service or maintenance item, unless the item is provided, free of charge, under your warranty or unless the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) waives this prohibition against the manufacturer. Further, under the act, aftermarket equipment that improves performance does not automatically void a vehicle manufacturer's original warranty, unless the warranty clearly states the addition of aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle's warranty, or if it can be proven that the aftermarket device is the direct cause of the failure. Specifically, the rules and regulations adopted by the FTC to govern the interpretation and enforcement of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16-Commercial Practices, Chapter I-Federal Trade Commission, Subchapter G-Rules, Regulations, Statements, and Interpretations under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Part 700-Interpretations under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Contained within these rules and regulations is Section 700.10, which states: No warrantor may condition the continued validity of a warranty on the use of only authorized repair service and/or authorized replacement parts for non-warranty service and maintenance. For example, provisions such as, "This warranty is void if service is performed by anyone other than an authorized 'ABC' dealer and all replacement parts must be genuine 'ABC' parts," and the like, are prohibited where the service or parts are not covered by the warranty." These provisions violate the act in two ways. First, they violate the section 102(c) ban against tying arrangements. Second, such provisions are deceptive under section 110 of the act, because a warrantor cannot, as a matter of law, avoid liability under a written warranty where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of "unauthorized" articles or service. This does not preclude a warrantor from expressly excluding liability for defects or damage caused by such "unauthorized" articles or service; nor does it preclude the warrantor from denying liability where the warrantor can demonstrate that the defect or damage was so caused. Under the Magnuson-Moss Act, a dealer must prove, not just vocalize, that aftermarket equipment caused the need for repairs before it can deny warranty coverage. If the dealer cannot prove such a claim — or it proffers a questionable explanation — it is your legal right to demand compliance with the warranty. The FTC administers the Magnuson-Moss Act and monitors compliance with warranty law. However, if you choose to modify your car, and suddenly the fancy new electronic control boxes that you added to your car make it run rough, not start when cold, or buck like a bronco, the dealer can and will charge a diagnostic fee to find out what is wrong with your car. If it turns out that your modifications are the cause of the problem, the dealer has every right not only to charge you for the diagnosis and repair, but to also void the portion of the warranty that has been compromised by the use of those aftermarket parts. Likewise, a dealer may refuse to service your car if it is adorned with aftermarket parts to the extent that its technicians cannot reasonably be expected to diagnose what is wrong with your car. As an example, all cars manufactured after 1994 are equipped with On Board Diagnostics II (OBDII) ports that dealers use to read engine diagnostic codes for everything from an engine vacuum leak to a malfunctioning emissions system. If your chosen modification has compromised the dealer service center's ability to scan for these codes (aftermarket electric control units, ECUs, generally do not support OBDII), then there is a strong probability that the dealer service center will Deny warranty coverage Refuse to service the car Note with your factory field representative for your region/district that your car has been "modified" Your car's manufacturer notes are your car's "permanent record." Above all else, avoid compromising these notes. This is nearly always connected with your vehicles' Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and will Ensure that your car will not have its warranty honored at any dealer service center in your area Dramatically reduce the resale and/or trade-in value of your car Event participation Some recent controversy surrounds car manufacturers' monitoring of Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) events and noting license plates and VINs as a justification for denying warranty coverage and either voiding out the warranty, or placing it on "restricted" status. The legality of these tactics by automobile manufacturers, in particular where the car is marketed with SCCA membership or literature or advertised in race-modified form, is questionable. To protect yourself, be aware of this trend and take the appropriate precautions in listing critical identifying information when participating in regional autocrosses, tracks days, and drag races. If you believe that your warranty has been wrongly canceled or placed on restriction either because of modifications made to your car, or because of your membership in, affiliation with, or participating in sanctioned club events or gatherings, consult with an attorney and use SEMA as a resource to fight the denial of coverage. When it comes to legality and warranty concerns, neither proceed based solely on slick advertising and marketing by parts manufacturers and resellers, nor allow yourself to be cowed into paranoia. Information is power, and knowing your rights and obligations is the foundation to any thoughtfully modified car.

Article / Updated 12-03-2021

Aero add-ons are supplemental pieces attached to a car's existing body work to improve its aesthetics or aerodynamics. There are three categories of aero add-ons: front "chin" spoilers, rear spoilers, and side skirts. Rear-mounted spoilers and wings Popular jargon uses the terms spoiler and wing interchangeably, but they have different functions. Spoilers: The ubiquitous spoiler is the little flap or raised protrusion on the rear decklids of coupes and sedans, or on the upper edge of the rear gate on hatchbacks. Although the spoiler is often a cosmetic upgrade designed to tell the world that your car is "sporty," it also has a very specific role in aerodynamics. As the name implies, this device spoils the airflow over the top half of the car at the trailing edge of the car's upper surface. The spoiler can keep airflow from tumbling and creating a swirling vortex behind the car. This is important for a couple of reasons — without a spoiler, swirling air behind the car can create both of these effects: Drag, which can keep the car from moving forward as quickly as possible. Drag is expressed as a numeric coefficient of wind resistance. Lift, which reduces the car's grip on the road at speed. Manufacturers have been known to add spoilers to cars that didn't have them in the original design. The Audi TT was released first without any spoiler. It could only be purchased with a spoiler after reports began deriding its high-speed stability and inherent rear lift. Wings: A wing on a car is an upside-down version of the wing on an airplane. Instead of lifting, the upside-down wing pushes the car against the ground. Because the wing must catch an undisturbed flow of air, most wings are mounted on raised pedestals. Many wings can be adjusted for rake (vertical angle) so that the amount of downforce (and corresponding drag) can be fine-tuned for a specific application. This is often accomplished with adjustment holes that allow you to alter the angle of the wing's plane for adjustable levels of resistance. A wing needs to be bolted into the rear trunk of your car. This means drilling holes. This also means that if you get tired of the wing and decide to remove it, you will need to pay a body shop to weld these holes shut and repaint the trunk for you. Choose wisely. There are several materials from which wings are constructed. In addition to the plastic, fiberglass, and carbon fiber variants available for other body add-ons, wings can also be made from aluminum. Although these aluminum wings tend to be functional — they are often tall enough to catch reasonable airflow at the back of the car, and many can be adjusted for rake — they also look utterly out of place on a street-driven car. Aluminum wings are fine if you're building a track monster, but putting one on a street-driven car screams poseur. Underbody diffusers A rear diffuser, otherwise known as a venturi, is designed to create a low-pressure or vacuum area under the rear of the car using a physics principle known as the Venturi effect. In essence, a diffuser is like an air channel that is designed to accelerate the air out from underneath the back of the car and help to both minimize underbody wind turbulence and to create negative lift at the rear of the car. Rear diffusers are available in sheet metal, carbon fiber, and plastic. They are used either with or without a rear wing. Front add-ons Although much of the performance aftermarket seems to be visually fixated on the back of the car, with spoilers and wings being the leading indicators of performance (or at least a shallow pretense), managing airflow at the front of the car, either by reducing lift or creating downforce (negative lift), is just as important. As a rule, the more work the wing is doing in the back, the more attention you will want to pay to the front of the car to ensure that the car moves at speed. The front (which is where the steering input is generated) provides as much grip and feedback as the rear. Air dams The air dam is the front valence mounted underneath your car's front bumper. If you have no idea what this is, that's okay. Nearly all modern cars have integrated air dams in which the lower-front valance and bumper skin are one seamless piece. Back in the mid-1980s and earlier, in the days of the exposed steel bumper, this was not the case. The air dam's job is to manage airflow at the front of the car, guiding air to the radiator/air-conditioning condenser and/or front mount intercooler and away from the tires, where it would cause lift. Many air dams also provide the mounting location for fog lights or driving lights. Today, one of the most common ways to give your car a "face lift" is the addition of a new front bumper (with air dam) along with a matching set of side skirts (the plastic extensions that bolt onto your car's side sills under your doors) and rear bumper. These body kits (consisting of the four pieces described and with a front lip sometimes added as a fifth component) can be mixed and matched from a number of different manufacturers for a unique look. Several tuners have signature designs for front bumpers/air dams that they carry over to a number of different makes and models. For example, the distinctive (in a bad way) Veilside front end looks virtually the same regardless of the car it is found on. When choosing a front bumper for your car, go with quality/durability (polyurethane excels here; fiberglass will crack, chip, and shatter), aesthetics (flows with the lines of your car), and try to find something that allows you to retain your factory bumper beam and foam support for safety. Beyond these requirements, keep the air dam's functional purpose in mind. If you are running a front-mounted intercooler or larger radiator, make sure that the bumper skin/air dam that you are buying will provide an oversized opening to give it all the air it needs. If you live in a state that requires a front license plate, check whether the front bumper allows for a logical mounting location for this. Splitters A splitter is designed to separate the oncoming air at the lower-leading edge of the car. By presenting a planed splitting surface, the air doesn't immediately encounter the car's front valance and tumble in front of the car. Instead, the air is channeled either up above the car's front lip to the radiator or below the car toward the brake ducting or other air channels. Splitters are available in a number of materials, including plastic, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. They must be mounted securely to the car's bodywork to perform as designed. If they move around at speed, they aren't effective. For most racers, a splitter is an expendable item that is often broken and replaced. However, weekend enthusiasts need to be careful when negotiating driveways and hills to avoid damaging the splitter. Canards Canards (bumper winglets) are designed to provide downforce on the front end of the car. Much like a wing on the rear of the car, canards add drag but help keep the front of the car planted when at speed. Made of plastic, carbon fiber, or fiberglass, canards are relatively inexpensive. However, they flex the paint on the front bumper skin, often resulting in stress cracks in the paint's surface.

Article / Updated 12-03-2021

Did you ever consider those wonderful days when your car won't start? If you left your lights, radio, or some other electrical gizmo on after you parked the car, you know what the trouble is: Your battery is dead. Of course, there are other possible reasons that your car won't start. Won't-start symptoms Your car may not start for a number of reasons. The following list outlines the most common circumstances and tells you what action you can take to try to remedy each situation: The car is silent when you turn the key in the ignition. Check the battery terminal cable connections. If they look very corroded, force the point of a screwdriver (with an insulated or wooden handle) between the connector and the terminal post and twist it to lodge it firmly. Then try to start the engine. If it starts, you need to clean or replace your cables. The car makes a clicking noise but won't start. This sound usually means a dead battery. If not, check the wiring to and from the starter for a loose connection. The car cranks over but won't start. Check the fuel supply to your engine. If that's okay, check whether the electrical spark is getting to your spark plugs. The engine starts but dies. If your car has a carburetor, check your carburetor adjustment and your choke to see whether the choke is first closing and then opening. If you have fuel injection, you'll need professional help. The car won't start on rainy days. Check inside the distributor cap for dampness. If you find moisture, get some mechanic's solvent from your friendly service station — they use it to clean car parts — or buy an aerosol can of it at an auto supply store. To evaporate any dampness inside the distributor cap, turn the cap upside down and pour or spray some solvent into it. Swish it around and pour it out. Then dry the cap as best you can with a clean, lint-free rag and replace the cap. Use only clean solvent; even a tiny speck of dirt can foul the points. Gasoline won't do because a spark can ignite gasoline fumes and cause an explosion or a fire. The car won't start on cold mornings. For vehicles with carburetors, check the choke. Is it closed? Does it open? If you have fuel injection, you'll need to have a professional diagnose the cold-start problems. The engine misses while idling. Check the points (if your car has a non-electronic distributor) and the spark plugs. Also check the fuel pump, fuel filter, and carburetor, if you have one. The engine misses or hesitates during acceleration. Check the accelerator pump in the carburetor (if equipped), the spark plugs, the distributor, and the timing. The engine knocks or pings. Check your timing; also check the octane rating of the fuel you're using. The owner's manual can tell you whether your vehicle needs regular unleaded or premium gasoline. Check the cooling system. Do a compression check on the engine cylinders. How to jump-start a car To safely jump-start a car, follow these steps: 1. Take out your jumper cables. It's a good idea to buy a set of jumper cables and keep them in the trunk compartment. If you don't have jumper cables, you'll have to find a Good Samaritan who not only is willing to assist you but has jumper cables as well. 2. Place both cars in Park or Neutral, with their ignitions shut off and their emergency brakes on. 3. Remove the caps from both batteries (unless they're sealed). Batteries produce explosive hydrogen gas, and a spark could set it off. If the caps are open, you can avoid such an explosion. (Sealed batteries have safety valves.) 4. Connect the cables. The positive cable has red clips at either end, and the negative cable has black clips. It's important to attach them in the proper order: 1. First, attach one of the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery (it has "POS" or "+" on it, or it's bigger than the negative terminal). 2. Attach the other red clip to the positive terminal of the GS's car. 3. Attach one of the black clips to the negative terminal on the GS's battery. 4. Attach the last black clip to an unpainted metal surface on your car that isn't near the carburetor (if your car has one) or battery. Figure 1 shows how both the positive and negative cables should be connected. Figure 1: Make sure to connect jumper cables in the proper order. 5. Try to start your vehicle. If it won't start, make sure that the cables are properly connected and have the GS run his or her engine for five minutes. Then try to start your car again. If it still won't start, your battery may be beyond help. 6. Disconnect the cables, thank the Good Samaritan, and resume your life. Don't shut off your engine; drive around for a while to recharge your battery. If your alternator light stays on or the gauge on the dashboard continues to point to "Discharge" after your car's been running, make sure that your fan belt is tight enough to run your alternator properly. If your battery keeps going dead, have a professional check both the battery and your alternator. In any case, never drive around with a light or gauge that reads "Trouble"; have it checked out immediately — that's why those gauges are in there!

Step by Step / Updated 12-03-2021

Essentially, when you check your master cylinder, you’re making sure that you have enough brake fluid, which is stored in the master cylinder. When you step on the brake pedal, fluid goes from the master cylinder into the brake lines; when you release the pedal, the fluid flows back into the master cylinder. To check the brake fluid in your master cylinder, follow these steps:

Step by Step / Updated 12-03-2021

If your vehicle has been overheating or doesn’t warm up properly, you may need to replace your thermostat. If the thermostat sticks in the open position, it doesn’t keep the liquid in the engine long enough, so you have trouble getting your car warmed up. If the thermostat sticks in the closed position, the liquid isn’t allowed to get to the radiator, and overheating results. Because replacing the thermostat is quite simple and thermostats are quite inexpensive, you may want to try this task before you take more drastic measures. Just be sure that you do this when your engine is completely cooled.